Filling up with water...

[David Williams]

After a few heavy rainshowers I have heard a sloshing sound from my CLK convertible. It seems to come from the sill area on the drivers side.

Yesterday I moved the car from the drive (the car was parked uphill) onto the road and about a gallon of water pored out from the sill in the area of the front mudflap! There was also water trying to get out from the rear jack point! What the hell is going on? and how does the water get there?

Any suggestions?

 

[Myros]

water ingress

David, you don't mention whether your car was driven in the wet, or merely sitting under the rain and storing it all up for you.
If static, the water must be working in from the body panel fits above the level of the sills. If driven, it brings in the underbody element as well. You must have a poor panel fit or worse still, a hole somewhere which is letting it all in. I'm not very up on CLKs, so I'd better give up now while I still make sense.

 

[David Williams]

Hi Myros - The car was stationary as I usually park it up for a few days at a time. I cannot understand how the water is getting into the sill area even if a few drops do get past the window seals? We're talking gallons here....!

 

[Spike]

From what you are saying it sounds perfectly normal. If you are parked on a steep incline, a certain amount of water will collect in your run offs - maybe not gallons but certainly a fair old amount.

Got a sunroof? If so, where are the water channels lead for that?

 

[99clk02Ebreak]

Blimey, you actually allow your CLK out in the rain........... I rarely take mine out in it !

 

[numbnuts]

I would check to see if there is drain pipes just behind the mud flap, if there is it may not becoming through the hole at one side

 

[sclass]

I would check to see if there is drain pipes just behind the mud flap, if there is it may not becoming through the hole at one side

Good idea numbnuts How do you know the guy has drainpipes in the drive under the car Have you lived in his house at sometime. :roll:

 

[Myros]

wet wet wet

David, it sounds as though a seal has failed big time. Check all the rubbers allover, starting at the top and working down. also, experiment with new parking positions to see if that helps you narrow it down. Good luck

 

[David Williams]

Thanks for the replies - I have obviously started to park downhill on the drive with the front right hand wheel being the lowest point so at least the water will drain and not collect. What I cannot understand is how this water is collecting in the sill - the inside of the car is completely dry and the window seal on the small rear window seems OK. Does this mean that water is somehow getting past this seal and running down the inside of the car past all the electrical wiring and finding access to the sill where it collects - Awesome design if it is.....not :cry:

 

[Spike]

Do you have a sunroof?

If so, the seals around the edge of sunroof are not supposed to be waterproof. Water will get past this seal and will be channeled down the runnoffs to the sill area.

 

[David Williams]

No the car is a convertible. I will try to find out tonight exactly where the water is coming from in the area of the front mudflap but I still can't fathom out why water would pour out of the rear jack point (from under that circular rubber patch

 

[mancub]

I had a similar problem with my 300E.
It seems the water gets inside via the draining system
Under the body there is a hole (on front/back and left/right) where the water should pour out
Sticking a screw driver inside this hole, which could have been blocked released all this water that was building up

 

[David Williams]

Thanks - I hoped it was going to be something that simple. I'll keep you posted.....

 

[sclass]

How much do you want for the water?

 

[David Williams]

18 grand - You can have the most boring car I have ever owned for free! :lol:

 

[OlafMaxwell]

The area of the car at the bottom of the windscreen probably drains out behind the wheel arches. A lot of water collects here when the car is parked but it should all drain away freely. It is very frequent for these pipes to be wrongly routed.

Have a look at the drainage from the area behind the engine compartment bulkhead, at the bottom of the windscreen where the wiper motor and a lot of other electrics etc are located. The bottom of the windscreen is probably separated off from this but it can still get in some water, most frequently when car is parked facing uphill. I am not sure if your car drains this into drain pipes [these often drop out behind the front wheels] or drains through holes into the back of the engine compartment.

There is a big plastic tray underneath to protect the underside ofthe transmission, this can hold a lot of water on top side. I presume the convertible has drainage points

Water also will collect on the channel on each side of the bonnet/wing edges and remain there until car is moved. Some cars have drainage from these channels at the corners near the windscreen pillars and which drop down as thin gauge plastic pipes and exit behind the mudflap locations behind the cill.

I had a recent problem with jacking point rubber missing from the cill, important to make sure these are intact.

However, if you are hearing water sloshing inside the cill or other members there is something seriously amiss. The cills on most Mercs are actually body coloured plastic screw on pieces and will hold water on top, the metal cill and the one to worry about is above the plastic, you can reach in to it where the rubber jack point is missing.

The other one to watch is door drainage points, check them regularly because the doors are large and a lot of water does run in at the corners of the glass. On a slope it remains in the door because the drain points are not at the extremes and drains when you move the car to the flat. I am not convinced that this would actually exit at the jacking point.

I do have a friend who has a CLK convertible and he did have 'slight' problems with water penetration, fixed by the dealer after much insistence, persistence and refusing to be fobbed off but to this day he does not know the cause, dealer never told him the problem or the cure.

If your car is still under a warranty I would sit on the dealer because MB also a rust problem.

 

[jonnyb1]

ref.water going downhill

water dosnt always go downhill...........if you put 2 glass sheets together capillary action takes place and water then travels uphill..so ...2 tight panels on a car can create the same envoironment........just a thought.cheers colin